


A Book of Short Stories (NaNoWriMo 2018)

by blinke182



Category: Original Work
Genre: NaNoWriMo 2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-14 09:32:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16490078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blinke182/pseuds/blinke182
Summary: Written for NaNoWriMo 2018I've given a three-noun prompt for each day in November. The total word count for all 30 days should equal or exceed 50,000 words.





	1. Gossip, Pencil, Star

**Author's Note:**

> November 1, 2018  
> Gossip, Pencil, Star
> 
> A girl writes for the school newspaper. Her specialty? A gossip column! She causes lots of trouble when she starts inputting lies into her articles.

Pencil hits paper. She scribbles words on a small piece of paper and drops it into a box. The box is labeled with the words, “Winterville High Star Gossip Column!” 

A girl with a bag comes by the box. This is Susianne. She pulls out a key and opens the box with it. She dumps the contents, consisting of a bunch of slips of paper, each with something written on it, into the bag and closes the box again, locking it shut. She walks over to the library to sift through the slips of paper. 

She read each one carefully before inputting it into a Word document. This way she had everything in place. 

She finished her task, then began writing.

Winterville High Star

Thursday, November 1, 20XX 

Winterville High Star Gossip Column

Hello, Winterville High School Students! Have I got the juicy news for you!

Alicia cheated on her boyfriend Warren with Quarterback Arnold! Sources tell us she hasn’t told Warren yet! Hopefully we won’t witness a murder! 

Charlotte told Evan yes when he asked her date him! The new couple was spotted behind the bleachers locking lips!

This Saturday, Ashton broke Joan’s heart! Joan’s been crying in the bathroom all week! Sources say he was spotted gallivanting through town with Jessica! Is Joan jealous?

Mr. Brown and Mrs. Smith were found in a broom closet by Principal Focker. Sources say that it’s probable they could lose their jobs. Wonder how Mr. Smith feels about this? 

Watch the story unfold in the Winterville High Star Gossip Column!

She finished typing and submitted her article to the editor. She knew it was going to be published in tomorrow’s school paper. She wanted to create as much drama as she could. 

The next day, a fight broke out in the cafeteria. Warren was threatening Arnold with a pencil. Alicia was on the side, pleading with them to stop this. Arnold was claiming it wasn’t true, as was Alicia. Someone ran to get a teacher. The fight was broken up.

Winterville High Star

Friday, November 2, 2018

Winterville High Star Gossip Column

Hello, Winterville High School Students! Have I got the scoop for you!

Yesterday at lunch, Warren threatened Arnold with a pencil in a fight for Alicia’s honor! Arnold was trying to diffuse the situation, but a teacher had to break it up. Maybe Alicia should have remained more faithful to her boyfriend Warren!

Mr. Brown and Mrs. Smith were fired yesterday for being caught having a bit of adult fun in a broom closet. Principal Focker won’t give us word on this development. Their classes will be run by substitutes until new teachers can be hired. 

New graffiti was found in the girls’ bathroom. It said some vey nasty things about Mrs. Smith’s husband. It has since been scrubbed off of the wall. 

Trouble in paradise? Charlotte was found behind the bleachers with Jonathan! Is she cheating on Evan? So soon into the relationship and she’s already unfaithful? 

Are Ashton and Joan getting back together? Sources say they saw the two holding hands, even after the breakup. Joan looked like she was still crying. Why are they getting back together so soon? Is this a sign of an on again off again relationship? Or is it on again for a while?

Watch the story unfold in the Winterville High School Star Gossip Column!

She sent the article to her editor, knowing what the information might cause. The information may or may not be true, but it sounded true. She liked to make her gossip column sound like a TMZ article. It gave her a sense of twisted pride to see what her stories caused. 

The next day, Charlotte was seen fighting with Evan. He thought the story in the paper was true. He crumpled up the paper and threw it at her, shouting about how he trusted her and only wanted to be happy with her. She cried about how she didn’t know where this person was getting their information, as it wasn’t true. Jonathan walked by and Charlotte slapped him. 

“What the hell?” 

“How is the gossip column getting their information? Are you feeding it to them?”

“No? Why would I? I barely know you!”

Winterville High Star

Monday, November 5, 2018

Winterville High Star Gossip Column

Hello, Winterville High School Students! Have I got stories for you!

Charlotte and Evan, back together? How does Jonathan know her? The three were seen fighting in the cafeteria on Friday, Jonathan lying about not really knowing her when we know he was seen with Charlotte at the mall holding hands with her!

Is Ashton gay? He was seen holding hands with and kissing Marcus at the mall on Sunday! Sources say that Ashton broke up with Joan for him!

Cheryl and Stephanie are dating? Sources say they heard Cheryl confessing her love to Stephanie, and she said yes! But Cheryl was dating Tom so is she cheating on him? Or did she break up with him?

The graffiti in the girls’ bathroom reappeared, this time saying some mean things about Charlotte, calling her some very rude names. The graffiti has since been scrubbed off.

Watch the story unfold in the Winterville High School Star Gossip Column!

She had a plan. She wanted to cause as much chaos as she could. Fights in the cafeteria and in the halls increased tenfold since the gossip column started being included in the school newspaper. The editor understood what she wanted and was more than happy to provide this. 

On Monday, fights broke out in the cafeteria between Marcus and Ashton, Cheryl and Stephanie, and Jonathan, Evan, and Charlotte. 

“Are you going around telling people I’m gay so you can get your name in the fucking paper?” Ashton yelled. 

“No? What on earth are you on about?” Marcus said. 

“You’re telling people I’m gay. It’s bad enough it even made it to the school paper! So we kissed once? Are you trying to ruin my life?”

The cafeteria went silent.

“You kinda just admitted…” Marcus said quietly. Ashton punched him square in the face and ran off.

“Did you tell people we’re dating?” Cheryl asked.

“No, I thought you did?” Stephanie asked. 

“Tom showed me this, I thought you were trying to ruin our friendship!” Cheryl was holding a copy of the paper turned to the gossip column.

“I would never do that. Why on earth would I do that? Either someone is feeding the writers lies or they’re making up their own,” Stephanie reasoned. 

“They must be. We should find out. Let’s try spreading rumors of our own. If we see them in the paper, we can get an idea of who is spreading rumors to the paper,” Cheryl said. 

“Great idea! We can give different rumors to different people, whichever one shows up in the paper gives an idea of who spreads it.”

“I’m not cheating on you with Jonathan, I barely know him!”

“Then why does the paper say otherwise?”

“I wasn’t at the mall with her, I had homework and was at home all day!”

“I was too, we had the same homework!”

“Charlie, is the paper telling the truth?” Evan asked.

“No, it is not,” Charlotte said.

“I believe you. I can’t resist that face,” Evan said, brushing a lock of hair out of her face.

“Can I leave? I’m not even involved here,” Jonathan said. Charlotte and Evan gave him a thumbs up so he left.

Winterville High School Star 

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Winterville High School Star Gossip Column

Hello, Winterville High School Students! Some juicy stuff has been happening recently, and I have the scoop!

Ashton is all by himself! After breaking up with both Joan and Marcus, Ashton claims he doesn’t need anyone in his life. He’s taken to his studies in the library constantly. Sources tell us Joan and Marcus are constantly fighting over Ashton. Marcus and Ashton claim they aren’t gay but we know the truth! 

Charlotte and Evan, back together to stay? After a big fight in the cafeteria, the couple seems to have found love in each other. Hopefully Jonathan doesn’t pop back into the picture and wreck this home. 

Cheryl is cheating on Tom with Stephanie? We didn’t know she swung both ways! This information comes from our super-secret informant who wishes their identity remains a secret!

Watch the story unfold on Winterville High School Star Gossip Column!

“I know who it is!” Cheryl exclaimed when with Stephanie the next day looking at the paper.

“Yeah, that version of the story was given to Susianne! It’s her!” Stephanie exclaimed. 

“Now we just need to figure out how to stop her from spreading lies,” Cheryl said. 

“We can spread the truth instead of the lies. Maybe if we can break into that stupid box over by the gym that they have.”

“It’s locked, I’ll bet Susianne has the only key to it.”

“Let’s just stuff a bunch of paper into it?” 

“Maybe.”

Winterville High School Star 

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Winterville High School Star Gossip Column

Hello, Winterville High School Students! I’ve got some stories!

Charlotte and Evan have decided to stay together, no worry of Jonathan. But since this whole thing started, Charlotte and Jonathan have become good platonic friends!

Ashton confirmed he is bisexual! He’s currently dating Marcus, and the two are happy together!

Cheryl is dating Tom, and the relationship is as stable and cute as ever! Stephanie is dating Luanne, and the two are happy together! We wish both of these couples the best of luck!

Principal Focker found another pair of teachers having some adult time in the broom closet. He didn’t like it very much. I imagine it doesn’t help that the teachers in question are the ones substituting for Mr. Brown and Mrs. Smith. The teachers may be fired, but we here at the Star are unsure as to how this will play out. 

Watch the story unfold in the Winterville High School Star Gossip Column!

“We did it! We got Susianne to stop!”

“I think that threat from Ashton helped some,” Stephanie said.

“Maybe. More than likely, yes,” Cheryl said, holding the paper in her hands as she grinned. She had somehow stopped the fights at school.

Those substitutes did get fired, by the way. Focker hates it when his teachers act like the high schoolers they’re supposed to be teaching.


	2. Honesty, Dice, Flute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> November 2, 2018
> 
> Honesty, Dice, Flute
> 
> A village is plagued by something known as the Flute Man. He comes for liars. He rolls his dice. The dice decide whether you lived or died. He played his flute, which made your head explode. Not really, but it may as well have. All the death with little mess. 15-year-old Amelia tries to end the Legend of the Flute Man.

Tell the truth. 

You must always tell the truth.

Even when that truth is inconvenient.

Even when that truth hurts like hell.

Even when you’d rather not. 

Roll the dice.

See what it says.

It says to go lay back down.

He appears.

He asks you a question.

You lie.

He gets angry.

He rolls his dice.

He sees the result.

He plays his flute. 

Your head explodes. 

Not really.

But it may as well have.

It kills just as bad with significantly less mess.

It’s his little bit of service to the person’s family, not having to clean up the mess.

He plagued the western village. The village was terrified of lying in case he showed up. If you were found lying, at night, he would come and roll the dice. Your fate rested in those dice. Only one result would allow you to survive him.

He rolled two dice. All but one face on both of them said you were to die. The last face would let you live, but only if both of the dice said so, which the odds made almost impossible. 

But if the dice did let you live, he honored them and left you alone, allowing you to live to tell the tale. 

Almost everyone visited by him died by the dice. None of them lived to tell the tale of their meeting with what the villagers called The Flute Man. 

The Flute Man’s visits were only survived by one person in the entire village in living memory. Sure, there have been others who survived the flute. But they all died in other ways, usually old age, terror, or suicide.

The village had grown accustomed to not being able to lie on fear of death. The Flute Man never came for anyone under the age of 12, for children that young haven’t learned yet. Young children are taught to be afraid of the Flute Man by their parents telling many stories of people their parents have practically witnessed die by the Flute Man. If someone went missing, it was assumed it was because of him. 

Young children in school often played dice games based on the Legend of the Flute Man, claiming one number to be the live face, and rolling dice to see who would live and who would die. 

One teenager threatened to end the Legend of the Flute Man. She carried a big hunting knife, a bag of dice, and a small pan flute, all strapped to her belt. Some people in the village call her mad, there’s no way she can get rid of him herself. But there are people who believe in her quest. They’re terrified of slipping up and lying by mistake. They don’t even want to risk a run in with the Flute Man. 

The Flute Man even bothers people visiting from out of town. If someone from the next village over lies, they get a visit from the Flute Man. The village hasn’t had a survivor of the Flute Man leave town, because people from out of town always die to him. The innkeepers try to warn them, but they never listen. The village doesn’t get many visitors nowadays. 

The teenager, named Amelia, finished fastening her dress over her petticoat and corset. She fastened her belt over it, then attached her hunting knife, bag of dice, and her pan flute to the belt. She fastened her bonnet and walked into the family room, where he mother sat sewing. 

“Amelia, where are you going? How many times have I told you about that big old knife?” her mother said, obviously not happy.

“I told you I was trying to hunt the Flute Man!” Amelia said, exasperated. She rested a hand on the handle of her big knife.

“You really think that knife will kill the Flute Man? He’s a spirit, not an actual man,” her mother said, sadly. 

Amelia had lost her father to the Flute Man. He lied to his boss when he was asked how long he had been at work. It was an accident, of course, for he had simply misspoken, but did not correct himself. 

That night, the Flute Man had come for him, rolled his dice, and played his flute, making his head practically explode.

It was then that Amelia vowed to be rid of the Flute Man once and for all. This way, nobody else would have to worry about accidentally lying on fear of death. 

“I heard stories of people wounding him with knives made of steel, I thought maybe if I carry this knife, I could maybe get him if he comes after me,” Amelia said, fidgeting with the clip on her knife holster.

“All I ask is for you to stay safe, okay Ammy Bee?” her mother said, putting her sewing down. She walked over to Amelia and gave her a big hug. Amelia embraced her mother, knowing that if she slips up, she may never see her mother again except as she looks down from heaven as her mother buries her. Amelia knew and accepted the risks, but she had to avenge her father’s death and the deaths of many in her village. 

“I love you, Ma, I will come back, and the Flute Man will terrorize this village no more,” Amelia said, looking in her mother’s eyes. This was no lie. 

“You do know what you have to do to get him to appear, right, Ammy Bee?” Her mother asked as she handed her child a cloth bag full of jerky. 

“I have to lie,” Amelia said as she fastened this bag to her belt next to her bag of dice.

“Now’s the time to start,” her mother said, a tear welling up in her eye. “My fifteen year old baby, off to save the village from a threat that’s plagued this village for centuries.” 

“Aww, don’t go crying now, Mama,” Amelia said, wiping the tear from her mother’s cheek. “I’ve gotta go now.” Amelia turned for the door and left without another word. Her mother smiled and went back to her sewing. Her baby would be just fine. She had the guts and determination to do it. Her mother only hoped she had the smarts. 

Amelia marched through the desert, her knife out, looking for something she needed. She would not rest until she found it. She was careful not to let her dress snag on too many things, but some things were simply unavoidable. If Amelia made it out alive, she would mend her dress by herself. 

After searching for several hours, she found it. She found plenty of a specific plant she could not remember the name of for the life of her. She only knew what it looked like, a kind of cactus. She sliced it clean from its roots with her knife. She brought it out to a clearing and sat down. She’d have a lot of fun cleaning her clothes when this was all over with. She looked at the sky, noticing how the sun was almost done setting. She sat for a few minutes before taking stock of all she had gathered. She had heard legends saying that perhaps burning this cactus in a campfire in the desert at night and telling lies to it would lure the Flute Man in. She arranged the tumbleweeds she had gathered in an arrangement that would allow the best chance for fire to spring up and got to work. She had placed a flint and steel in her bag of dice and began trying to make a spark with it. When it didn’t work, she broke a couple of pieces from the weed and started rubbing them together. Eventually she got a little bit of smoke to come out, but not enough to start a roaring fire. She went back to her flint and steel and managed to get a spark enough to start a small fire. She worked the fire up, making it bigger and bigger until it was a respectable sized fire. She then picked up the cactus, brushing the dust off of it, and carefully set it in the fire, accidentally burning herself on the wrists in the process. She let the pain wane some before continuing what she was doing. 

“My hands were not burnt. The sky is green. My father is alive and well. My name is Melissa. You are not feared in my village. People lie every day and suffer no consequences!” Amelia shouted. She heard strong winds from behind her as she stood in front of the fire shouting lies at it. 

“You are a liar. Must you pay the price for it?” a ghostly voice said, causing Amelia to shudder and turn to face the source. A hooded figure carrying a flute, two dice, and a scythe hovered slightly above the floor as   
Amelia looked at him. She tried to find his face, but only shadows were in its place. 

“You killed my father. Prepare to meet your end, vile spirit! My village is terrified of you because you bring nothing but fear and death in your wake!” Amelia shouted at him. She drew her knife, preparing to fight. 

“Do you wish to roll the dice to decide your fate?” said the spirit.

“I wish for you to die, Flute Man! You have scared off our visitors. My family two towns over refuses to visit us because of the stories of you killing liars!” 

“I’m afraid I cannot grant your wish, young one, for I am immortal!”

“Take this!” Amelia shouted as she came after him with the knife. It made contact with him, but Amelia had missed vital parts. She had only stabbed him in the side, missing anything important. The Flute Man laughed.

“You foolish child, you think you can end my life, when I possess the power to end yours much faster,” the Flute Man said, the sneer audible in his ghostly voice. 

“Roll the dice then, Flute Man,” Amelia said, pulling her knife from his form.

The dice were rolled.

Tears flowed.

A flute was played.

Screams were heard.

Somehow Amelia’s mother knew.


	3. Despair, Cemetery, Dice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> November 3, 2018
> 
> Despair, Cemetery, Dice
> 
> A continuation of Day 2. The Flute Man has come for the girl's mother.

You must not tell lies. 

Even the smallest white lie can be your undoing.

You cannot even lie about your feelings. A woman felt nothing but despair as she dressed that morning. She wore all black. She cried, her tears falling hot on her cheeks. She not only had to deal with the loss of her husband to this thing, but her only daughter, too. She picked up a bag from the table. It was full of dice. Her daughter carried them as a reminder of what she was doing. She rolled two of them. Snake eyes. Maybe she’d get lucky.

She gently put the dice back in the bag and placed the bag in her pocket. She had plans for it. It had always been kept close to her daughter, her most important trinkets kept within. There was a flint and steel, about ten dice, a necklace pendant from a broken locket with her father’s photograph inside. 

In the cemetery, she approached the coffin that held her daughter. She placed the bag of dice and a small pan flute in the coffin with her body, between her hands as if she were holding them. The coffin was closed and lowered into the ground. 

Her mother lay flowers on a grave. Another victim of the Flute Man. She was foolish. She thought she could fight him. Her mother secretly knew better but hoped that her daughter would succeed. 

But she didn’t. And her mother wept. Her daughter died aiming for a dream of saving the village. 

However, some black liquid was found on the child’s knife. The same black liquid was found in a puddle nearby. The child wounded it. 

The child’s mother wept in despair. She had known her child would not make it but had not the heart to tell her different. She expected the Flute Man that night.

And he did not disappoint her.

“You lied to her, your own daughter,” the ghostly voice said from the bedroom window as she was preparing her bed. She did not turn.

“I didn’t have the heart to crush her ambitions. She fully believed she could best you. Who am I to doubt her?”

“And yet you did, however secretly. And now you’ve had to bury her and your husband. He was a liar too.”

“Don’t you dare talk about him that way! You got him on a technicality!” She bellowed, flinging a pillow across the room at him. He caught it and somehow it ended up back where it was before she threw it. 

“He lied, he lost, his head exploded. He got what was coming to him,” the man said. The woman picked up an object from her nightstand. It was her daughter’s hunting knife. She carefully unsheathed it and finally turned to face the Flute Man. 

“Remember this? My daughter stabbed you with this, didn’t she?” the woman asked. The man nodded. 

“Foolish girl. If only her mother, who was supposed to know better, could have told her better.”

“She went out as she was chasing what she wanted for our village. You have terrorized this village for a very long time. She wanted to stop you, to save our village from you.”

“And she thought nobody else has ever tried, didn’t she? She was foolish for thinking she could stop me, I’m immortal.”

“I lay my daughter to rest today like many others in this village have for the longest time. She had to have had an effect on you.”

“I don’t trust knives anymore.”

“When my daughter was found, this knife was covered in a black liquid. Is that what your blood looks like?”

“She did get me with it, but it was not enough to kill me. You forget, I’m immortal.”

“Everyone dies eventually. Even those who claim they’re immortal.”

“I’ve been alive for the longest time. You think a small mortal like your daughter would be able to end my life?”

“Maybe I should finish what she started,” she said, lunging at the Flute Man. He dodged, laughing at her attempt. 

“You think you can hurt me like that? You’re a foolish woman!”

“My daughter managed to get this covered in your blood, maybe I can reintroduce them,” the woman said, lunging again. He managed to dodge a fatal blow, the blade merely scraping him.

“Your daughter was foolish, too. How many times do I have to tell you?”

“As many times as it takes for the lesson to sink in, I suppose,” she said. She readjusted her grip on the knife and prepared to lunge again. “I was a fighter in my youth, fought with many a boy who thought he could have my hand simply because he asked my parents. When they found out that wasn’t enough, they would try to fight me to get me to submit. I refused every time. Only once did I ever accept a man’s hand in marriage, and that was when he knew to ask me first before asking my parents. And what happened to that man? You murdered him! Your dice are rigged against the person you want to kill. You only have one combination out of several possible that allows a person to live. Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair to make your victims roll when there’s almost no chance they get to survive by the dice roll?”

“They choose their fate when they tell an untruth. It only furthers disarray and negativity in a community to lie to your peers and neighbors.”

“It does not do to have an entire village terrified to even sort of slip up lest you come for their lives, their souls. Those people you’ve killed have families, children, parents, siblings who miss them because they made a tiny slip up and you came in thinking you can judge them. Well I have another thing for you. Only he who they worship can judge them for their conduct. You took my husband and daughter away because they slipped up and you on your high fricking horse thought you could pass judgement on them like only God in heaven is truly allowed to pass. You’re a sick man, you know that? You play your flute and make people’s heads explode inside their skulls!”

“I use that method because it saves the families of the liars a little bit of worry of cleaning up the mess left when they die.”

“How about you just stop killing people? Maybe we wouldn’t have the problem of cleaning brains off the walls if you didn’t kill them at all!”

“I must pass judgement on those who fail to uphold the-”

“No, you shut up for a minute, let a lady talk. You are not the one in charge of judging people for their wrongdoings.”

“If I did not judge people for their lies, then dishonesty would run rampant in the village,” the Flute Man said.

“Do you think people have no moral compass when left to their own devices? You do know it is in people’s nature to be nice to each other, for the most part. We can teach our children how to be nice to each other without the legend of a man who comes to your house at night to kill you if you ever lie. They’re not stupid. We already teach our children not to lie based on the stories of you. You terrify our village.”

“It’s not ideal to be feared, but if that’s what it takes then it’s what I will do. If it takes fear of me to keep lies down, then I must make you fear me.”

“Why do you think we hate you so much? Why do you think Amelia wanted to kill you so bad? You scare our children, even though the one good thing about you is that you don’t come for children. But we have to scare our children. Why do you kill us?”

“Look, let me explain. I feed off of the deaths of humans. I need people to die regularly so I can take their life energy. I play my flute to take their life force, and to the victim it feels like their head is exploding. Then their brains practically explode inside the skull.”

“Then things like you should not exist. You are a plague to this village. Like a vampire that gives a slim chance of survival. I must eliminate you so you cannot terrorize this village no more!” she lunged with the knife and caught him in where his heart would be if he was human. Black oil like liquid spurted out of the wound before she removed the knife. She was covered in the black liquid as it spurted everywhere. He collapsed on the floor, the black oil like liquid seeping into the floorboards. He still twitched on the ground as he died. She watched as he slowly stopped twitching. 

The horror was over. He would no longer terrorize the village. They were free to lie. 

She looked at her daughter’s knife. It dripped in the Flute Man’s blood. She stared as the thick liquid dripped down the blade, finally dripping off onto her hand.

It was time. She was all alone. Her beloved husband was long gone, and she had just buried her daughter. There was nothing left for her on this world. She decided to take one last tour of her home. 

She looked around the family room. A painting hung over the fireplace. The subjects of the painting were her and her family. Her husband stood towering over her and their then 10 year old daughter. The painting hung untouched for five years, for she did not want to sully his memory. She stared at the painting as she thought. 

Her family was gone. She wanted badly to join them. She wanted to see her husband and daughter again, both taken by the man whose body lay seeping black blood onto the floor in her bedchamber. 

She had seen enough.

She took the knife in her hands.

And she willingly left this world.


	4. Education, Locket, Mouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> November 4, 2018
> 
> Education, Locket, Mouse
> 
> The school mascot, Rosie the Rat, better known to her peers as Kelsie, has lost her locket.

A locket is popped open. No photo is inside. She sighs as she thinks about how she doesn’t have any photos to put inside. She pops it closed. She lets it fall back to her chest. She looks up at the school. The place was decorated for October, bats, ghosts, and orange and black garland graced the windows and hallways of the school. She placed the head of her costume on. She was Rosie the Rat, Blue River High School’s mascot. The students hated this mascot, as did students from other high schools. The popular chant at other schools was to Squish the Mouse. They were a laughing stock until the Rats’ football team squashed theirs.

The coach had asked her to come to school on Halloween as Rosie. It was to “raise morale,” he said. She complied. She paraded the hallways as Rosie, putting on a show and making people laugh. She enjoyed it quite a lot, until she had to go to games as Rosie, where the other school always made fun of her. But it wasn’t her fault, they were laughing at the mascot the school board picked.

One day, she was getting out of her costume in the girls’ locker room after a home game when she placed a hand on her chest where her locket should be. Wait, should be? It wasn’t there! Even though there was no picture inside, it was very important to her. Where could it be?

She finished with her costume, then ran back out to the field. She had no idea where to start looking. She did a lot of running and jumping around in front of the home team bleachers, so she started scouring it for her lost locket. It was nowhere to be found. 

The coach came up to her as she was practically digging though the dirt around the home team’s bleachers.

“What in blazes are you doing?” he asked.

“I lost my locket sometime during the game, it’s very important to me. I have to find it,” she replied as she searched.

“What does it look like?”

“Silver heart on a chain, nothing inside.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for it. I hope you find it.”

“Thanks, coach,” she said, standing up. She had also done a lot of jumping and dancing near concessions, so maybe she should check over there. 

She scoured the entire field and found nothing. She got up in the bleachers to look, even if she believed there was no way they could be there. She found nothing. She plopped down on the bleacher and sobbed. 

She remembered why the locket was so important to her, even though nothing was inside. 

“Kelsie, come here to Grandma…”

“I give you this locket. It used to contain a picture of my husband, but it fell out because the picture got too old and worn out. I now give this locket to you. Maybe you’ll be able to fill it with something important to you. I want you to keep it empty until you find someone super special and important to keep an image of. Do you hear me, Kelsie?”

“Yes, Grandma.”

“Now go. It’s my time to say goodbye to this world and to you until your time comes.”

“Goodbye, Grandma.”

A boy, one of the football players, came up to her to ask her why she was sobbing.

“You okay?”

“I lost my locket.”

“Oh, no, that’s really bad. What does it look like? When did you lose it?”

“It’s a silver heart on a necklace chain with nothing inside. I must have lost it during the game. It’s very important to me. My grandmother gave it to me before she passed away.”

“Oh no. Well, how about I help you look for it? It can’t be too far, now can it?”

“I suppose not,” Kelsie said as she wiped tears off her face with her sleeve. He helped her stand up and they walked down the bleachers together. 

“I’ll check by the away side, you check the home side. How does that sound?” he asked.

“Sounds okay,” Kelsie said. He ran to the other side of the field to look for the locket.

She didn’t know the football players very well, but she knew the cheerleaders. They didn’t like her very much. Kelsie tended to stay away from the cheerleaders because of this. The football players just never seemed to take an interest in conversing with her. She didn’t mind. It meant she had more time to her own thoughts. 

She scoured the benches and the bleachers, digging in the dust at the bottom of fences and near the concession stands. She looked over at the other side to see the football player scouring the ground with even more scrutiny than she was using. She almost felt touched. Hopefully he wasn’t being this nice because the coach asked him to. If he was, she was going to have a word with both the player and the coach. 

“I’m so sorry, I can’t find it,” the football player shouted as he jogged back over to Kelsie.

“It’s okay. Thank you for trying, anyway,” Kelsie responded sadly.

“Hey now, come on, don’t be like that. I can’t leave you sad because I couldn’t help you with this very important thing.”

“Coach didn’t put you up to this, did he?”

“No, he didn’t. He did mention you’d lost something, but I was the only one to get up and try to help.”

“Well, I guess I need to thank you or something, huh?” Kelsie asked. She crossed her arms because she knew how this went sometimes. She was a wallflower, boys didn’t talk to her much so she stopped really caring. 

“No need. I just wish I could have found it so I could see you happy today. Your name is Kelsie, right?” he asked. Kelsie dropped her crossed arms.

“Yes, I’m Kelsie. Remind me of your name?” Kelsie asked.

“Josh. I’m sorry we didn’t find it,” Josh said, sort of bowing to Kelsie. Kelsie was surprised. The football players were often ungentlemanly and rude, especially to her. Sometimes she wondered if they even knew she was their mascot costume wearer. She could sometimes vaguely hear conversations with the coach on the bus when going to an away game.

“Coach, who’s that girl at the back of the bus?” they would say.

“That’s Kelsie,” the coach would say.

“What is she doing here?” they would ask. Usually this was a mean spirited voice that they used to ask this.

“She wears the Rosie the Rat costume, idiot,” the coach would reply, often punctuated with a smack on the back of the head. The football players would laugh uproariously at this, and Kelsie would sink into her seat on the bus and listen to her music.

The team didn’t like her very much.

That’s why she was shocked that Josh came out to try to help.

Did he have a crush on her? She wasn’t sure if she liked that at all.

However, it did put a thought in her head. Maybe if she started dating one of the football players, they might respect her finally!

Either that, or they simply extend the hate on to the player she was going out with.

Either one of those options felt like a win to her. It was a step up.

Except the cheerleaders tended to hate anyone dating a football player save for one of their own. So if she started dating a football player, she could expect the hate she was getting from the cheerleaders already to increase tenfold.

She decided to let things play out as they will.

Likelihood was that he was simply being nice.

She went back to the locker room. As she entered, a sound she absolutely hated echoed from inside.

The cheerleaders had arrived. She cringed, but knew she needed to go inside. She braced herself and entered the locker room.

“Oh, look, it’s Kelsie! Or should I say, ‘Rosie the Rat?’” one of the cheerleaders chided. Kelsie ignored them. She didn’t need to give them the time of day. She grabbed her costume and started making her way towards the door.

“Kelsie, I think I have something of yours!” one of them shouted. Kelsie sighed and turned around to see one of the cheerleaders holding a silver heart on a chain.

Her locket!

“Oh, thanks for finding it!” Kelsie said, walking towards the girl holding it. The cheerleader yanked it away as Kelsie got close.

“Oh no, you think you’re getting it back so easily, don’t you?” the girl chided.

“Why are you doing this?” Kelsie asked, a bite in her voice.

“Because it’s fun to pick on you,” she said. She still held the locket in her hand away from Kelsie.

“Just give the locket back. You don’t have to be like this,” Kelsie said.

“Aw, that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?” the cheerleader said, laughing. The rest of the girls laughed with her.

“Why can’t you just give it back? How would you feel if someone did this with something of yours as important as that?”

“I wouldn’t care because I’m not a sentimental idiot like you. Why do you carry this old thing around? There isn’t even anything in it,” the girl chided.

“Why should I give you that response?”

“Because I might give the locket back,” she said condescendingly. Kelsie groaned.

“Just give it back, you can find other things to do with your precious time.”

“My time isn’t as precious as you like to say.”

“You do realize that you just roasted yourself, right?” Kelsie said.

The cheerleader growled.

“Here,” she threw the locket at Kelsie, who caught it in her hands, “have the stupid locket. It’s of no use to me anyway. But I better not find you flirting with Josh,” she said, crossing her arms. She was not playing around.

“Oh, I don’t think you need to worry about that. I’m gay.”

Kelsie left the locker room to hear cheerleaders laughing and yelling. 

That cheerleader must have looked so mortified.


End file.
